Railroad track lining machine



NOV. 9, 1954 F J, HERLEHY 2,693,769

RAILROAD TRACK LINING MACHINE Filed Jan. 10, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 9, 1954 F. J. HERLEHY RAILROAD TRACK LINING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed JanfV 10, 1952 Wm @hw F. J. HERLEHY RAILROAD TRACK INING MACHINE Nov. 9, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. l0. 1952 @NNN for

Zn vez? fran fjzferZey United States Patent O RAILROAD TRACK LINING MACHINE Frank J. Herlehy, Watertown, Wis.

Application January 10, 1952, Serial No. 265,741

12 Claims. (Cl. 1114-8) My invention relates to an improvement in railroad track lining machines and has for one purpose to provide such a machine which, while supported on the rails of a track, can be employed to impart a bodily lateral movement of the track.

Another purpose is to provide such a machine which, while it is self-supported on the ballast, for example in the inter-tie spaces, may be employed bodily to move the ties and rails together, to the right or to the left.

Another purpose is to provide such a device in which the weight of the rails and ties is so far relieved that the track pressure upon the ballast is insutlicient to prevent bodily lateral movement of the track.

Another purpose is to provide a track lining assembly which may be effectively employed to impart to the track sullicient lateral movement to line it with desired accuracy along a predetermined track alignment,

Other purposes will appear from time to time in the course of the specification and claims.

I illustrate the invention more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a section similar to Figure 2 with parts in different position.

Like parts are indicated by like symbols throughout the specification and drawings.

Referring to the drawings, 1 generally indicates the ballast of a track. Ties are indicated as at 2. 3, 3 indicate rails spiked or otherwise suitably connected to the ties, it being understood that I intend to illustrate a complete track in the sense that the rails are secured to the ties and that the ties are normally resting on the balast.

I illustrate herein a vehicle which includes longitudinally extending bottom frame members 4. 5, longitudinally extending top frame members 6, 7, vertical side members 8, horizontal transverse bottom members 9, and horizontal transverse top members 10. In elect, I thus provide an open frame or cage which is supported on any suitable rail engaging flanged wheels 11 on axles 12. 'I'hus the vehicle, as a whole, is guided and supported on the rails and may be moved along the rails.

14 is any suitable intermediate platform upon which I may position any suitable motor 15 which, through a shaft 16, may drive any suitable pump or compressor 17 of a fluid system. 18 is any suitable reservoir of such system, connected to the pump for example by the duct or pipe 19. 20 is a duct or pipe extending from the opposite side of the pump or compressor. Itis shown as branched as at 21. Thus l may provide any suitable source of fluid, preferably liquid, pressure for the actuation of below-described hydraulic rams.

A plurality of ballast engaging shoes are indicated as at 25. I illustrate four of these shoes, but any suitable number, greater or less, may be employed. Each such shoe is shown as having a generally plane bottom surface 26, from which downwardly extend a plurality of teeth or pins 27. 28 is a suitable central upward extension having ears 29 to which are pivoted, as at 30, hydraulic cylinders 31. Each such cylinder has therein a piston 32 from which extends a piston rod 33 to the outer end of which is mounted a fitting 34, having a lower tlange 34a, which is relatively short, and a relatively long upper flange 34h, adapted to overlie the upper inner edge of the inner web of the track rails 3.

I may employ any suitable connections between the ice pressure delivery side of the pump or compressor 17 and the interior of the cylinder 31. I illustrate for example flexible pressure ducts 35 in connection with one side of the pistons 32 and flexible pressure ducts 36 in connection with the opposite side of the pistons 32. Thus when pressure is admitted through the ducts 35, the fittings 34 are moved outwardly against or toward the rails, whereas when pressure is admitted through the ducts 36, the pistons and thus the fittings 34 are withdrawn toward the inner-rail space.

In Figure 1, I illustrate the shoes 25 as upwardly withdrawn, whereas in Figure 3, the shoes are in engagement with the ballast in the inter-tie spaces. In order to raise and lower the shoes, I illustrate cylinders 40 within which are pistons 41, from which extend piston rods 42, which are connected at their lower ends to the shoes 25 by the forked elements 43. It will be noted that these forked elements 43 have side portions which extend to the shoes 25 at opposite sides of the cylinder 32, which they tend to guide and protect. The cylinders 40 are secured at their upper ends to supporting forks 45. These have upper side members 45a which carry rollers 46. These rollers ride along the opposite flanges of any suitable I beams 47. As a matter of convenience or of reinforcement, corresponding cylinders 40, at opposite sides of the device, may be connected by any suitable cross pieces 48. 49 indicates pressure ducts extending to the interior of the cylinders 40, below the pistons 41, and 50 indicates pressure ducts or pipes extending to the interiors of the cylinders 40 above the pistons 41. It will be understood that the operator, by admitting pressure through the pipes 50, can force the pistons 41 downward. The result is eventually to position the shoes 25, as shown in Figure 3, against the ballast in the inter-tie spaces. Preferably, I provide sutlicient pressure so that, without positively elevating the ties or rails or the vehicle itself, the effective weight of the ties and rails is so far reduced that bodily movement of the ties and rails becomes within the power of the hydraulic rams which include the cylinders 31. In normal operation the track is not actually lifted and for this reason the ballast will not run or roll under the ties and disturb the supporting surface of the ballast.

In order to lock the vehicle upon the rails, I employ hooks 55 which are pivoted, as at 56, to lugs 4a, 5a extending from the bottom frame members 4 and 5 respectively. Preferably, the centers 56 are slightly exterior to the centers of the rails, as is shown in Figure 3. Each such hook 55 has a bottom outwardly extending tooth or end portion 57, which is adapted to underlie the top llange or head of the rail, as shown in Figure 3. In order to hold the portion 57 in locking position, I provide a brake, joint or toggle, including links 58 and 58a. The outer end of each link is pivoted to a hook or hooks, as at 59 or 59a. They are pivoted to each other as at 60, the parts being so proportioned in Vthe relation of centers that when the links 58 and 58a drop by gravity into the position in which they are shown in Figure 3, they constitute a link which provides holding the teeth or ends 57 under the rails. Thus when pressure is admitted through the pipes 50 and the vehicle or frame is upwardly urged, the teeth or ends 57 operate in effect to tend to raise the rails and with them the ties. While they are not actually lifted, their effective weight as applied to the ballast s substantially reduced, to any desired degree, thus rendering the track as a whole more readily movable. Whereas under normal circumstances it is not necessary actually to elevate the track, it is Within my invention to cause or permit actual lifting of the track upwardly by hydraulic pressure exerted by means of the rams which include the cylinders 40. In some circumstances. as for example in the case of old track, a slight lift of the ties may be necessary to separate the ballast from the ties before shifting the track laterally.

Assume that the parts are in the position in which they are shown in Figure 3, with the hooks 57 taking a substantial part of the weight of the track, then the operator, by admitting pressure behind the pistons 32 of the cylinders 31 along one side of the vehicle, may force the track laterally. Assume that the pressure is admitted behind the pistons 32 of the left-hand set of hydraulic rams or cylinders 31, referring to the posielevators mounted on the ballast engaging elements and extending between said ballast engaging elements and the base, hydraulic rams mounted on the ballast engaging elements and extending to the side thrust members, and hydraulic connecting ducts between said pump and said hydraulic elevators and rams.

12. In a track lining machine, a base mounted for movement along the rails of a track, track locking means on said base for locking said base against upward movement from said track to thereby form a generally unitary structure of said track and said base, a ballast-engaging element movably mounted on the base, and means for thrusting said element downwardly against the ballast with sucient force to remove substantially the entire weight of said structure from the ballast, and extensible means supported by said base and operable between said element and said structure for directing a lateral thrust against said structure with suicient force to shift said structure laterally during the exertion of said upward thrust.

References Cited in the ile of this patent Number 15 Number UNITED STATES PATENTS 

